Surcease
by TrustTheCloak
Summary: Missing scene from The Ruins of Gorlan, after the Kalkara are defeated.


Halt tossed fitfully, mumbling something incoherent. He had woken briefly, and though he had been quite out of it, he was fairly certain that the blurry forms were Rodney and Will - Will! - shushing him and reassuring him that the Kalkara had been defeated, that they were safe.

His sleep was fitful, however, his dreams clustered with unpleasantness.

* * *

_Halt whirled as the Kalkara screamed again, stumbling with a groan as pain shot up his leg. _

_A panicked cry caught his attention, and then Gilan was there._

_"You left me."_

_"No..." Halt said hopelessly, reaching out a hand to his former apprentice. Another blink, and suddenly Gilan's chest was in deep, bloody ribbons, shredded from what could only be a fierce swipe from a Kalkara's claws. Gilan's eyes briefly met Halt's before he swayed and crumpled. Halt flinched at the confused, pained gaze._

_Another spin revealed Sir David, his face wrought with grief as he clutched at his son's broken body. "Why, Halt?" He spat through his tears. "Why did my boy have to die?"_

_A choked sob and another whirl put the Ranger face to face with Pauline, her beautiful face dripping blood from an indent in her skull. "Oh, Halt," she said sorrowfully, sounding disappointed. "You could have done more."_

_Halt reeled backwards, only to flail and fall as he tripped on something. The sprawled bodies of Arald and Rodney, lying in puddles of blood. Frantically, Halt tried to get up, only to be faced with a dirty, blood covered Will, his deep brown eyes glassy with dread as he fruitlessly tried to scramble towards his teacher. _

_"I'm scared, Halt," he said simply, though his tone was seeping with utter terror. "Please... help me!"_

_The boy screamed as the giant mass of a Kalkara appeared, looming over him in triumph._

_Halt cried out and desperately reached to him, his apprentice just out of his grasp..._

* * *

Halt woke with a jerk, his limbs flailing without a bit of coordination.

"Wait, don't move, Halt! You'll reopen your leg wound, and Sir Rodney just stitched it... " Small, familiar hands were on his shoulders, steadying him and keeping him still. With a groan, Halt reluctantly creaked his eyes open, and was met with Will's warm, earnest brown orbs.

"Will," he breathed, sweet relief sweeping through him at the sight of his apprentice. "Are you alright?"

Will nodded, a grin crinkling his cheeks. "I'm fine. We killed them, Halt - the Kalkara are gone. It's really over."

Rodney's deep voice broke in from where he was kneeling next to Arald, checking the other man's wounds. "We have Will to thank for that, Halt. He saved all of our lives."

Will's cheeks flushed as he ducked his head, slightly embarrassed at Rodney's solemn praise.

"Will..." Halt said softly, and Will slowly lifted his eyes to meet his teacher's. "Thank you."

Will's eyes widened as he nodded, his face shining as he felt a fierce warmth spread through him at his mentor's words.

A beat passed as Halt shifted and gave another groan, then took a harsh inhale and cast a concerned gaze around the modest campsite - someone was missing. "Wait. Gilan - he should be here be now." Another wave of fear washed over the Ranger; it had been a difficult, but necessary decision to leave Gilan on foot, but the thought of his former apprentice, alone and terrible vulnerable... it sickened him. If anything had happened to Gilan, it would have been on Halt's call.

Will hurried to reassure his teacher. "Don't worry, Gilan's all right! He already left, though."

Halt took a breath, feeling his heartbeat steady, then inquired, "Already left? Just how long have I been out?" It didn't feel like it had been _that _long, but if Gilan had already been and left...

"Not too long," Rodney cut in. "Gilan didn't linger. He stayed long enough to make sure you were all right and to collect his horse. Said something about needing to get back to Meric." The Battlemaster shrugged, then continued in a lower tone, "I think he was just anxious to get off Plains; it must have been a bit eerie, being on foot for that many hours. Especially with those things screaming in the background." Rodney shuddered, shaking his head.

Halt felt another stab of guilt before turning to glare at Rodney. "How could you let him leave without a rest? You should have made him stay."

Rodney gave Halt a dour look. "You think I didn't try? Blame yourself for training him up to be bullheaded."

"Oh, I didn't train it into him - I got him that way." Halt scowled, giving a long suffering shake of his head. "Gilan will get his talk later. Clearly, he needs to review what self preservation is."

Will's brow pinched. "He'll be all right, won't he? I'm sorry, Halt, I should have tried harder to make him stay."

Halt shook his head at his apprentice's guilt stricken face. "It's not your fault - he wouldn't have listened anyway. Gilan is persistent to a fault, but he's not stupid. He'll be fine." Will's face cleared slightly, and Halt turned to again survey the modest campsite.

"I think it's time to go home."

There was a chorus of agreement. Halt paused for a moment, the barest of smirks touching a corner of his mouth. The war wasn't over, not by a long shot, but they had won today.

And today... that was enough.

* * *

**I admit, I always found it a touch odd that Gilan took off SO quickly after the Kalkara hunt, instead of hanging around for even a little while to help the others back to Redmont, especially with some being injured. I do think Halt would be a smidge annoyed about this, especially since he's told Gilan since he was a kid to not rush into things. Taking off this abruptly seems hasty - if nothing else, Gilan no doubt would have been tired from a night of running around on foot, and not at his sharpest. That being said, it's clear that Gilan did not like the Plains, and being in such a vulnerable position for so long would put anyone on edge and wanting to get all the way out of dodge as soon a they were able.**

**Have a lovely day!**

**-TrustTheCloak**


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